The effective leader must pass the “Commitment Test.” Read Luke 18:18-23.

During the three years of Jesus’ public ministry, as His popularity grew, many people desired to be close to Him, join His team, seek affirmation for their life decisions, and get His answers to spiritual questions. It is refreshing that Jesus always went straight to the central issues in their life that would keep them from finding the answers they sought and achieving their potential.

The effective leader sets priorities and lives by those priorities. Read Mark 1:32-38.

Jesus was having tremendous ministry in the city of Capernaum and news about Him spread quickly throughout the whole region of Galilee. Jesus’ schedule was full from first light to late into the evening, yet Mark tells us that Jesus got up early in the morning and went to a solitary place to pray. Jesus set priorities which included stepping back from His busy schedule to seek the day’s direction from God. Jesus used the solitude of His prayer time to regain perspective and keep His focus on the big picture of His mission on earth.

Being an effective leader requires careful thought that leads to wisdom. Read Haggai 2:10-19.

The Hebrews that returned from exile in Babylon with the mission to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem were struggling in their day-to-day life to have success with their crops. Three times in today’s Scripture Haggai recommends the leaders give careful thought to their situation. When they stopped construction on the temple and focused on their own needs they were lacking in both food and wine. When they stopped giving careful thought to God’s priorities they forfeited the wisdom they needed to find God’s blessing.

Wise leaders don’t confuse activity with accomplishment. Read Haggai 1:5-11.

Haggai served as prophet to the Hebrews who had returned from exile after 70 years in Babylon. These returnees were charged by God to rebuild the temple so they had a place to worship and focus on Him as they started their more routine lives. Initially they made a great start on the temple project; however, when they came under some intense pressure to stop the construction from some local tribes who had political clout with those who had released them from captivity, the construction ground to a halt.

A leader’s decisions affects the stakeholders. Read Jonah 1:1-17.

God gave Jonah a command to preach repentance to the Assyrian king and the people living in Nineveh. Jonah chose to go the opposite direction and caught a ship in Joppa bound for the port of Tarshish. God decided to recall Jonah and in the process sent a mighty storm that threatened to sink the ship. Jonah’s decision to run from God threatened the lives of the unsuspecting sailors. The cause of the storm lay with a man they had never met based on his decision he made before the journey began. Jonah became part of the sailors’ system and their lives were dramatically affected.